Ex-Zar got up, his mind distracted with thoughts, turning to Va'ala he said, "we'll be there in awhile...you can go back to your ship, or I can show you to a room if you like, or if you're hungry, I can take you to the galley."

"Galley?" Bob licked his lips and gave Va'ala a pleading look.

"Yeah, ok. You win, Bob," she conceded to Bob, to which he responded with a broad grin. "Galley sounds good, Ex-Zar." Va'ala herself wasn't hungry, but a galley was always a good place to hear gossip and pick up the general mood of the crew--a factor that might be critical in her plan to capture Terrak. "Just give me enough notice to get back to the Reiver before we get to the co-ordinates I gave you where Terrak should be," she said to Ex-Zar. "Remember, we'll need to surprise him or the plan won't work."

As she rose to follow Ex-Zar to the galley, she asked, "So, erm, what are your plans for ol' Terrak once you capture him, Ex-Zar?"

She was interested, not just for the curiosity factor, or the fact that she could use the information for threatening Terrak, but also to know what could happen to her if she ever happened to cross Ex-Zar. Not that she was thinking about doing so at the moment, but it was always wise to know the capablilities of a person you were doing business with.

Kyle hadn't got a response, and was getting quite bored and frustrated. He really wanted to go to Naboo, because he remembered the datapad mentioning it, and Luke sending the Frost twins with an old friend of his and Jan's, Sara Klint.

((OOC: OK, I suppose it's time to get this thread rolling again people!! Please!!))

~~~~~~~~~

Va’ala came onto the bridge of the Reiver. Moving up behind Krell in the navigator’s seat, she laid her hands on his shoulders. Krell turned his head slightly. “Have a nice nap?” he asked.

“Mmm, yeah,” she replied. “Very nice. So, how far are we from Naboo now?”

Wabacca growled unintelligibly, but had obviously answered the question as Krell was nodding. “A few hours,” Krell translated. “Four at the most.” He turned around to face Va'ala. “Plenty of time for some more…” He eyed her over, then smiled seductively. “…recreational exercise.”

He started to put his arms around her waist, but Va’ala pushed him away. “Ugh! Is that all you think about?”

Krell raised an eyebrow. “No. I think about other things. Money, gambling, spice….” He paused for a moment and then his eyes narrowed. “Certain people making deals behind certain other people's back to spy on the Jedi for Ex-Zar.”

Va’ala’s jaw set. “You just aren’t going to ever let that go, are you,” she said flatly. “Look, Krell, I did what did so Ex-Zar could get Erlong Trarace off my back. Ex-Zar’s ex-Empire. He’s the only one who Erlong Trarace might even consider listening to. And I didn’t say that I would ‘spy’ for Ex-Zar. I just said I’d keep my eyes and ears open for any information on Jedi.”

“Which means he’s going to be looking for you to find out what your lovely eyes and ears have seen and heard.” Krell rolled his eyes and turned his chair back around to face the controls and let out a disappointed sigh. “We’ll be forever looking over our shoulder.”

“Better than having a bounty on our heads,” Va’ala muttered.

“Bounty?” Krell laughed out loud. “Erlong put a bounty on you?”

“On us. You, me, Wabacca, and... Bob.”

Bob grinned. “I’ve got a bounty?” His grin grew wider. “Wow!”

“And how much could the bounty be on the four of us anyway?” Krell said dismissively.

Va’ala bit her lip. “Seventy-five.”

Krell snorted a laugh. “That’s it?! Va’ala, we could pay seventy-five hundred to Erlong ourselves with these dets we’re carrying.”

“Thousand.”

Krell blinked and looked at Wabacca, then Bob, who was sitting off to the side at the com station. “Ah, well…,” Krell started. “Seventy five thousand might be a bit of a struggle.”

Va’ala cleared her throat. “Each,” she added.

Krell’s mouth dropped and he turned his head to look at her. “Each? But that’s… that’s…”

“Three hundred thousand,” Bob volunteered, still grinning.

“I can add, Bob!” Krell snapped. Turning back to Va’ala he asked, “And just how did you find out this little tidbit of information? From Ex-Zar?”

“No. Before we went after Tarrek, I checked the ‘Live-Wire’ feed to see if he had a bounty. Didn't think I'd find one on us. It was posted just about the time we were leaving The Wheel with the dets.”

“Oh, how convenient,” Krell said suspiciously. “Bet Zeedo had something to do with that.”

“Probably,” agreed Va’ala. “Doesn’t matter now. What matters is that we get to Naboo, find that horrible Kat person so we can unload this cargo, and get paid. What happens to us from there on in depends on Ex-Zar and Erlong.”

Sara looked at him hard for a very long moment, the silent war wageing inside evident in her green eyes. Finally she heaved an exasperated sigh, and stood. Slipping past him, she made her way to the back of the cockpit but did not leave. Rather, she headed to one of the screens on the wall, as if checking the information displayed there. Running her hand through her hair, she was silent a moment longer before speaking.

"Alright, fine." she said before turning to look at him. "You want to know why? Fine. I tell myself that yeah, it's because you're a Jedi. It's because you have your duties, and I have mine. It's because I see no feesible future for us. I can tell myself that all I want, but it doesn't make it true."

She looked away from him now, her gaze falling to the side as her expression turned from one of frustration to one of sadness. "I think I know the real reason now." the pilot said quietly, crossing her arms self-conciously, "No matter how much I don't want to admit it."

Jethro stood behind Sara, but remained at a distance. He himself stared towards the front of the cockpit. In his mind, he was struggling to take a decision, a very grave decision. After thinking for a while, he finally made his decision and moved closer towards her until he was only inches away from her. Sara was still looking sideways, but Jethro didn't wait for her to face him, but, just before he opened his mouth to say that he would leave the Jedi Order, something crossed his mind.

It was so obvious, that he felt like a fool not having thought off it before. Now that he finally knew what to say, or rather, what to ask, he broke the silence. "There's someone else, isn't there?"

It took her a moment to react to his question at all, but when she did, it was rather unexpected. She laughed, though the sound was hollow and mirthless. Better than crying. she figured.

"Someone else?" she asked, her eyes flashing at the thought, "Yeah, there is. There's a scumbag somewhere in this damn galaxy that had my heart in the tightest of holds. We were engaged, we were happy, we were ready to be married! Then the bastard walks out on me, shredding my heart and leaving the peices with me."

She wheeled on him. "Is that what you wanted to know? Are you happy now?"

Ex-Zar hadn't responded to Va'ala when she asked him what he intended to do to Tarrek. He just shrugged and led them to the galley.

After Bob had eaten his fill, and Ex-Zar was done saying hello to his men, which he treated as if he were one of them, and they seemed elated around him, not worrying about whether their conversations were heard by Ex-Zar or not; them knowing he understood them, unlike some commanders. Ex-Zar led them to a dorm, where he left them to go to his own room.

Now it was a decent time later, and they were nearing Naboo. Ex-Zar headed to the hangar. After entering he went over to the Reiver, where he walked up the ramp, but stopped midway, leaning forward he knocked on the side of the ship, so as to alert them to his presence. He knocked one more time before stopping and waiting for someone to come to the ramp.

"But in you...I see the potential to see the Force die, to turn away from its will..."
"You are beautiful to me, exile. A dead spot in the Force, an emptiness in which its will might be denied."
"But no Jedi ever made the choice you did. To sever ties so completely, so utterly, that it leaves a wound in the Force..."
"I would have killed the galaxy to preserve you...You are more precious than you know..."-now...it's verbatim!-A quote from Darth Traya (Kreia)

((OOC @MasterArchon -- Sorry, but I suppose I should have expanded in my previous post that Ex-Zar and Va’ala’s plan worked and they have captured Tarrek the pirate. Just thought that since the thread was gasping for breath that we had to move things along a bit and get everyone to Naboo so we can have some more interaction.))
~~~~~~~~~

Hearing the knock on the hull, Va’ala turned her head toward the corridor.

“Ah. Must be your boyfriend come a’callin’,” Krell said ascerbically.

“Shut up,” Va’ala snapped at him, as she headed off the bridge.

“You know, that little 'spice' incident aside, I still think he’s got a bit of a crush on you.” With a roguish grin on his face that was unseen by Va’ala, Krell let out a thoughtful, yet over-dramatic, sigh. “Wonder if he knows about… us?” he asked provocatively.

Predictably, Va’ala wheeled around and glared at Krell. “Us? There isn’t any ‘us,’ Krell. There’s you. And there’s me. And occasionally, in extreme moments of weakness or insanity (or both) on my part, there’s a ‘we’. But there is never any ‘us’. You got that?”

Krell grinned at her over his shoulder. “So…you do have a soft spot for him.”

Va’ala spluttered. “I do not have a…! Look, I’m the captain around here! You just get the ship prepped for launch and let me worry about who I do and do not have soft spots for!”

“Yes, dear,” Krell said snidely.

With a frustrated howl, Va’ala turned on her heels and headed for the open loading ramp. Krell always seemed to know just how to push her buttons, and this irritated her to no end. Yes, she was the captain, but Krell had just as much control over the crew as she did. Well, except for Bob. Bob was completely loyal to her. Hardly a consolation as Bob was an idiot most of the time, but….

She took a deep breath to try and compose herself before peering around the corner to melt under the gaze of Ex-Zar’s sparkling blue eyes. Ex-Empire or not, he was still very attractive.

“Erm...hi,” she said nervously, desperately hoping that Ex-Zar hadn’t overheard her yelling at Krell. “My Wookie pilot says we’re only a few hours from Naboo. I’ve told Krell to prep our ship for launch. It’s probably best if we land at our cargo point by ourselves. Not too sure how the Nabooans will react to the sudden arrival of your fleet. And if they find out that you’re carrying a load of permacrete dets, they may not react too kindly. And, I've got to locate that Kat person and her crazy ship, too.” She paused, now slightly embarrassed that she had rambled so much so quickly without even giving him a chance to respond.

Cripe. Maybe I do have a soft spot for him, she thought to herself. I’m rambling like a kriffin' idiot….

“But, we are guests on your ship,” she said apologetically. “The decision isn't mine. What do you think?”

Ex-Zar just stared at her, his face showing no emotion, though his stare wasn't unkind either. He waited for her to finish speaking, then said, "that's what I came to talk to you about." He paused, waiting to see what he should say next.

"Well, we don't have to worry about the Nabooians, I've already made contact with the the political heads, and they don't mind our arrival. As for the cretes, if they find them, well, the truth never hurt." He said with a light smile.

He looked Va'ala in the eye, he could tell she was nervous for some reason, but he just smiled. "This is where I got the Sovereign, and one of the two Dreadnaughts in my fleet. As for Ms. Grey, she shouldn't be too hard to find."

"But, before you deliver the cretes, I'll have to go to the planet's capital, I have an old friend, and some political business to take care of first, but don't worry, it won't take long, and if the meeting goes well, I'll be able to get some extra money as a donation to my people, maybe if I feel generous, I can pay off any debts you have," he said with a sly smile and a wink.

At that Ex-Zar turned and headed down the ramp, but he stopped at the bottum; he turned around, "oh, you can come if you like, I'd rather not have to go alone, but then again I don't know if you have the time to meet a former queen; oh, I forgot, we'll be there in only an hour, we've been traveling at half power so far, power will be increased so as to shorten the trip, so I advise you get ready."

At that he gave a cunning smiled, gave a bow, and turned away, walking swiftly across the hangar, and to his room to prepare.

"But in you...I see the potential to see the Force die, to turn away from its will..."
"You are beautiful to me, exile. A dead spot in the Force, an emptiness in which its will might be denied."
"But no Jedi ever made the choice you did. To sever ties so completely, so utterly, that it leaves a wound in the Force..."
"I would have killed the galaxy to preserve you...You are more precious than you know..."-now...it's verbatim!-A quote from Darth Traya (Kreia)

"Oh, man... you really got it bad for that Ex-Zar guy...." Krell rolled his eyes with disgust.

"I'm not dressing for him," snapped Va'ala. "Well, I am, sort of," she conceded. "He's asked me to go with him to meet the Queen."

"Queen? What Queen?" asked Krell.

"The Queen," Va'ala repeated. Krell gave her a blank stare. "Of Naboo? You know, the ruler of the planet?"

Krell raised an eyebrow. "Oh. That Queen." He eyed her over again, then nodded. "Yeah, okay. I guess Krayt Dragon-hide trousers are a bit on the sleezy side as far as royalty goes. Maybe I should change, too."

"I wouldn't bother," Va'ala said. "There isn't any kind of clothing in the Galaxy that would make you look less sleezy."

Bob and Wabacca both s******ed, but Krell just donned a sardonic grin. "And that's the reason you like me so much."

Va'ala rolled her eyes at him, then left to go and change clothes. When she returned, she was wearing something a bit more conservative--a demure gray-toned long tunic over similar coloured trousers.

Krell gave her an appreciative look, but said nothing. Bob, on the otherhand, whistled in approval. "You look real nice, boss!"

"Thanks, Bob. Say, see if you can get on the com and let Ex-Zar know that we're ready to land. He offered to keep us on board, but I think we should dock ourselves. It'll make off-loading these dets that much easier. Just ask him where I should meet him."

"You know if I didn't know better, I'd say you were jealous of Ex-Zar," Va'ala said.

"Really? I'd say you're mistaking jealousy for 'concern for the well-being of this ship and her crew.'" He turned to face Va'ala. "He's trouble, Va'ala. He's ex-Empire, and he can't be trusted."

"Oh, and you can?"

"No. But at least you know where you stand with me. You don't know a thing about Ex-Zar. Or what he's capable of."

"Your opinion is noted," Va'ala said. "And I know what I'm doing. You just remember to keep your opinions to yourself when he's around, okay? I'll have a com link with me. If I get into trouble, I'll let you know."

"Just remember to give us plenty of notice," Krell said, turning back to the control panel. "Would hate to leave you stranded here."

"Ha, ha," Va'ala said deadpan. "Bob, I'll be in my quarters. Let me know where I'm supposed to meet Ex-Zar when we land."

She went back to her room, and began to straighten things up. Something she hadn't done in a very, very long time.